


By T’under

by tamethespaghetti



Category: Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: First Kiss, Jim still making questionable life decisions even though he's an adult now, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Canon, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26593090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tamethespaghetti/pseuds/tamethespaghetti
Summary: Over ten years later, Silver is captured and to be hung for his crimes. Jim takes this last chance to see him again.
Relationships: Jim Hawkins/John Silver
Comments: 4
Kudos: 59





	By T’under

This morning is going well, the sky is a beautiful shade of purple and the air around him is warm. Jim is happy and content, until he overhears some of his crew talking about the latest _big_ news. Jim is just walking by, on the way to a meeting, and he catches only a few words, but it’s enough to turn Jim’s insides to ice.

_—nasty business—Long John—finally caught—hope he gets the noose—_

Jim can’t stick around and he hurries on but he can’t concentrate worth a damn during his meetings, and the moment he’s done he rushes to the nearest newspaper stall and sure enough, right on the front cover, is a headline Jim hoped he’d never see:

**_Notorious Pirate Capitan Silver Captured_ **

And right below it, in ink as black as a starless sky, it’s written:

_Long John Silver to Be Hung For His Crimes_

Jim is frozen on the street, every nerve in his body turning to ice. He’s empty, he’s hollow and he resists the urge to cry.

“Damn it Silver,” Jim whispers to himself, his grip on the newspaper tightening, “What the hell happened to staying out of trouble?”

~*~

He reports a family emergency and his higher ups -who like him well enough- grant him leave and he’s on the next ship off the planet. But he doesn’t go home to Montressor, instead he makes haste to the planet that currently houses the pirate known as Long John Sliver.

It’s not the biggest prison, nor is it the most secure or heavily manned, but its walls are thick and it has some of the most up-to-date electronic security measures available in this quadrant of the cosmos. Jim had heard through the grapevine that they’d be moving Silver to a more secure penitentiary before the week’s end and he knows that once the move is done there’ll be no way a little visit like this will go largely unnoticed.

Once inside the prison, Jim shows his credentials and gives some well-rehearsed excuse that the warden doesn’t even look into too deeply and the next thing he knows he’s being led down a narrow stairway to the lower cells. The guard says something about having to move the rest of the prisoners away from the _problematic_ prisoner, but Jim’s not really listening.

It’s dark and damp down here, the air smells stale and the low hanging ceiling is suffocating. And the artificial lighting does little to help matters, the dirty yellow bulbs barely illuminate anything, but it does enough so that Jim can tell it’s empty here. Or it nearly is, only one cell -the cell furthest from the door- seems to have any prisoners in it and the closer he gets the more certain he is that yes, Notorious Pirate Captain Long John Silver has indeed been captured.

Jim would recognize the clicking and whirling of those gyros and gears anywhere.

They stop in front of the cell and Jim looks down at his former crewmate. The pirate is sitting on a low bench on the far end of the cell, leaning against the wall and seemingly far too relaxed for someone in his current predicament. Silver looks too big for the cell, -damn- he’s as big as Jim remembers, larger than life, and commanding attention and respect even behind bars.

It’s silent for a long moment and Jim takes this time to really look at his old -well- _friend_ is a strong word but even then it never felt quite right.

It’s been over ten years and it shows on Silver’s face. The lines on his face are deeper and more numerous, and the yellow glow from his cyborg eye does little to chase the shadows away from under his eyes. His bandana is nowhere to be seen and Jim can see the gray- _silver_ overtaking the brown of Silver’s hair. His signature tricorn hat is also missing. And any coat. Silver is completely devoid of any finer pieces, he’s dressed only in a linen shirt that had seen better days and a pair of breeches, and the plainness of it all makes the simple majesty of his cybernetic limbs that much more evident. They shine as bright as any star in this dirty yellow light, despite the scuffs and dirt that mar the silver metal.

“Ah, Jimbo lad,” Silver finally greets him, loudly, his boisterous voice easily filling his cell and the whole lower level of the prison. He gives Jim a warm smile, “What a pleas’nt surprise ‘dis be.”

Jim turns to the guard and asks him to step out. And to not come back until called, no matter what happens. The man gives Jim a momentary look of concern and for a second Jim thinks he’d going to argue, but the guard says nothing and leaves all the same. It’s a perk that comes with Jim’s high rank, and he’s worked bloody hard enough to earn it.

Silver watches the guard attentively -face impassive- until it’s just him and Jim alone down here. The moment the door closes behind the guard Silver’s eyes are back on Jim, looking him over and Jim shivers. It’s uncomfortable being under Silver’s silent scrutiny and he’s almost grateful when Silver speaks.

“Look at ye now Jimbo, grown up ‘n made a name for yer-self,” Silver whistles and Jim ignores the way Silver looks him over like he’s some prize to plunder, “That’s a nice jacket lad, do a little spin for us now.”

Jim certainly does not do that. He stays stalk still, arms crossed over his chest and face set and stern.

“Finally got yourself captured,” Jim finally speaks and his words sounds too big in the small room, but never as large as Silver’s voice. He speaks without humor but Silver still laughs.

“Oh Jimbo, ‘dis ain’t the first time I’ve been behind bars,” Silver replies, all jovial and blasé but Jim is certain he can see thought it. This time it’s different. Sure Silver may have been captured before, but it can’t have been like this. How could the spacer have ever escaped jail looking so defeated? 

Jim doesn’t know what to say. He’s had an entire ship-ride here to figure it out -hell, he’s had an entire decade to figure out what he’d say to Silver the next time they met- and he still doesn’t know.

“Did they write ‘bout me in ‘da papers?” Silver asks and he’s puffing his chest out with pride like he already knows the answer to his question.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m here.”

Silver laughs again, “Well if I’d ‘ave known that’s all it would ‘ave took to get ye to see me then I’d ‘ave gotten caught years ago.”

That snaps something inside of Jim. His last thread of patience. He’s angry- furious- so damn angry, because he’d given Silver a second chance and the pirate had gone and squandered that without a single care. How fucking dare he be sitting in a cell with a whole new decade of crime behind him, and acting like his freedom is some joke? Jim just wants to scream. To scream at Silver for being a fool, for throwing away a second chance -a future- and for letting Jim down.

But Silver keeps talking before Jim can utter a single syllable.

“I’ve missed ye laddie,” Silver says, and just like that all the anger in Jim fizzles out. Silver speaks so softly, so damn gently, and Jim knows it’s all just a ploy to get Jim on his side because that’s what Silver does. He speaks with his silver tongue and gets Jim hook, line, and sinker every damn time.

But then again, the look Silver is giving him can’t be all for show, the pirate looks downright regretful.

“Just wish it could ‘ave been under better terms.”

That Jim agrees with. He nods and lets out a small “Yeah,” and then they’re silent again. But it’s not as uncomfortable this time, it’s more depressing than anything. They could have run into each other on some wondrous planet in the furthest reaches of the universe, or on the stardust heavy seas of the Ethereum, but it had to be here, in a low, dark cell on opposite sides of rusting iron bars.

“Where’s Morphy?” Silver asks after a while, looking curiously around, as if Morph could have been hiding all this time and one of the bars would suddenly turn into an over-affectionate blob of pink goo, “He hasn’t gone ‘n left ye now ‘as he?”

“I didn’t bring him with me. I didn’t want him to see you like this, “ Jim says with maybe a bit too much bite as he gestures to their surroundings. Silver’s face falls but he nods all the same.

“Yer not wrong. ‘S probably for the best he’s tucked away somewhere safe. See’n me in a cage, it’d break his heart,” Silver chuckled to himself, “How’s he do’n my lil Morphy? Eati’n well?”

“Yeah, you know he is. Always finding food somewhere,” Jim smiles for the first time in what feels like ages and suddenly it’s back to the way it was on the Legacy, -easy and safe- them sharing a smile at the charming simplicity of Morph’s antics. Jim even finds himself searching Silver’s shoulder for the pink ball of mischief despite knowing fully well that he left Morph on the ship with a bag full of sweet raisins and dates and orders not to stray too far. The void left by the lack Morph’s presence shatter the moment of peace and Jim remembers why he’s here.

“You’re to be hanged,” he says, forcing each word out before he loses his nerve. He’s certain Silver must know this by now so this won’t be news to him, but Jim needs Silver to know that _he_ knows.

Jim watches Silver’s face go dark, “Aye,” he replies simply but that one word is enough. It’s cold and bitter and worst of all, it reeks of acceptance.

“Can I ask ye for a wee favor James?”

“Yes,” Jim says too quickly -like he’s still eating out of Silver’s hand- and even Silver looks surprised. But then Silver’s face melts into a soft smile.

“Don’t let me name be forgott’n.”

It’s a simple request but hell- it hurt. It makes Jim have to imagine a world where he couldn’t look up at the sky at any point and know with certainty that Silver was up there somewhere.

“I could never forget you,” Jim says thoughtlessly and with too much emotion, and just one look at Silver tells Jim that the cyborg has finally pieced it together. The air is heavy between them, thick and dense like the atmosphere of a gas-giant and Jim’s lungs have to fight to pull in enough air.

Silver laughs. The bittersweet ringing bouncing off the thick walls and it’s just too damn loud. Silver pushes himself off of the bench with a low grunt and he’s walking towards Jim. And Jim doesn’t miss the limp in Silver’s walk, the way he heavily favors his organic leg despite his best effort not to. But Jim has no time to dwell on that because Silver is now right in front of him, close enough to touch if Jim had the courage to reach between the bars.

“Here I be,” Silver speaks and his voice is quiet and so foreign -it’s smooth and sweet like liquid sugar- “rak’n da cosmos for treasure when I ‘ad the most precious treasure in me hands all those years ago.”

It’s so sweet it hurts and the way Silver looks at him _has_ to be love. It just has to be. It can’t be anything else because Jim swears that’s the way he’s looking at Sliver right now.

“Silver,” Jim hears himself say but he feels so far away. He’s floating above it all, watching this transpire from an outside view and he knows what will happen next.

Even now that Jim is a man Silver still towers over him -almost brushing the top of his head on the low ceiling- and Jim has to crane his neck to meet the cyborg’s mismatched eyes. But then Silver bends down and suddenly they’re eye to eye and even with the bars of the cell between them they’re closer than they’ve ever been, so close Jim can smell the other man’s breath. It’s warm and stale but Jim can’t find it in himself to care, they’re so close, close enough that Jim can see every single wrinkle that adorns the cyborg’s face and every star trapped inside the dark sky of Silver’s organic eye.

And if he leaned in just a bit, they’d be close enough to-

Silver pulls away and suddenly Jim is left staring at empty air. The old spacer has turned around and he’s walking- hobbling back to the bench at the far end of the cell. Jim wants to scream, to call him back, order him to stand back here, beg him to come back.

“Ye best be off now,” Silver says, voice still quiet but lacking any of the honey it had just held. It’s cold now, distant and unwelcoming like an icy moon surrounding an inhabitable planet.

To have been so close just a moment ago, the distance between then now feels immeasurable, they’re standing on separate sides of the known universe and they’ll just keep getting further and further apart until one of them is lost- and then Jim remembers Silver is to be hung and suddenly he had the energy to close that distance because it’s now or never.

 _To hell with it all_ Jim grimaces and rips his glove off and slams his palm onto the biometric hand scanner. He has clearance, he can open this door, and yes it will have a record of him opening the cell door but right now Jim didn’t want to- can’t- think that far ahead. He doesn’t want to think about how he’ll surely regret this decision or how damaging those inevitable repercussions will be. He just wants these blasted bars between them gone right _now_.

The cell door opens with a small beep but Jim doesn’t hear it over his own heartbeat roaring in his ears. And then he’s in the cell- it’s small but it seems to take forever to traverse the short distance between the cell door and the bench where Silver currently resides. The pirate looks scared for a moment and Jim burns that image into his brain. He -Admiral James Hawkins- has managed to frighten the great pirate Long John Silver and it’s oddly flattering. But then doesn’t care anymore because he’s grabbing Silver’s shirt and pulling Silver towards him until their lips meet in a bruising kiss.

Silver doesn’t kiss back and in frustration Jim nips at his bottom lip. Silver lets out a grunt of pain but it seems to do the trick because now the pirate is reciprocating, kissing Jim back with the force of a cosmic hurricane. And Jim lets himself be swept away. He’s under sail again, and the ship is a good one, sturdy, dependable, and well traveled and it’s steady in its course as it sails across the tempestuous currents in the stars. Jim’s hanging onto the shrouds for dear life, knuckles white and the celestial winds are so strong they steal his breath away. But he doesn’t worry because the boat is captained by capable hands and the ship is a solid presence- safe and comfortable- underneath Jim, and it feels like home.

And then the waters calm and Jim is on solid ground again. His head is spinning and he’s desperately trying to pull air into his lungs and from the sound of Silver’s heavy breathing, the pirate is in much of the same state as Jim is.

“You daft old man,” Jim says and there’s no bite to it. It’s all love and adoration and his voice sounds sickly sweet even to his own ears but he doesn’t give a damn, “as if I’d leave after I’ve just got you back.”

Silver’s face is a tranquil sea, a mirror, a perfect reflection of love and wonderment. It’s a look unsuitable for a ruthless buccaneer such as the man before Jim, but he finds that it suits Silver just fine.

“I be a fool James Hawkins,” Silver laughs, “A damm’d fool.”

“So am I. I just broke into prison to kiss a pirate.”

Silver laughs again, harder. Hard enough that there are tears in his eye and Jim kisses them away and in response he gets a playful shove from Silver. And Jim would have fallen backwards onto the cold cell floor if not for Silvers’ hand catching him and holding him steady, keeping him close and Jim never wants them to part ways again.

Now that- that makes Jim pause. It’s jarring and frankly a bit frightening how fast all these emotions -new and old- surfaced. He thought he’d left all these irrational thoughts and actions back in the past with his teenage angst and sexually charged dreams, but apparently they had simply been stashed away within neurons somewhere in the deepest darkest sulci of his brain, gathering dust until they day were they could fire anew. And fire they do, with such force that it feels like a lifetime of _want_ flashes by in an instant.

He’s not a boy anymore and he has the capacity to see what this is. Silver seems to bring something out in him and he knows with certainly isn’t all good. But he’s also old enough to make his own decisions -even if he knows it’s the wrong decision- and that is exactly what he’s going to do.

“Kiss me Silver,” Jim orders.

The pirate’s lips part into a wide toothy grin, “Who be a humble cyborg to argue with a capt’n?”

“I’m an Admiral,” Jim corrects him and Silver’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. Jim laughs and Silver must have gotten over his surprise quickly because Jim is rapidly silenced by a pair of lips. The kiss is gentler this time, Silver’s hand is lightly cradling the back of Jim’s head, gently guiding the kiss and Jim lets himself be steered by Silver’s expert hands. The ocean is gentle now and the ship rocks softly in the waves, bow dipping into the calm waters and the gentle sea breeze caresses the sails. 

It’s everything Jim had been hoping for this past decade.

“Have I already b’n hung ‘n the afterlife is b’n mighty kind to dis old sinner?” Silver asks and his voice cracks with emotion and it tears at Jim’s heart.

“No this is real,” Jim replies, and he’s too old to cry like this but there are tears gathering in Silver’s organic eye and if a callous pirate like Silver can let out a tear or two then Jim should be granted such lenience as well. Or more.

“Bless the stars,” Silver whispers and hold’s Jim face in his hands, “look at you, more beautiful than- than-” Silver pauses and Jim waits. But then the pirate shakes his head and lets out a short chuckle, “There be nothing in dis universe that can compare to ye.” 

And Jim believes him.

~*~

The papers would print a story on how Long John Silver escaped jail, but nothing more. The article would be short and to the point, with little information on how such an incidence could have occurred.

No print would mention the ship owned by Notorious Pirate Captain Long John Silver -but retained under a different name- stowed in secret on a nearby moon just in case the Captain had need of an untraceable ship.

There would be no front-page account of the ship that sailed from that moon on a day not long after a certain Admiral James Pleiades Hawkins had made an unexpected trip to a small prison.

The papers would never print an article depicting a certain pirate standing at the helm of the small ship, the feathers of a new tricron hat blowing in the solar wind, and black sailor’s coat billowing behind the newly freed Captain. No mention of the smile that not even the gods themselves could tear from his face. And if there is a man standing beside him at the helm, with a smile that rivals the most radiant nebular lights in beauty, then not a word of it could ever be written because -as a certain old cyborg would put it- some things are so perfect that no words could ever do it justice.

**Author's Note:**

> These guys make me have feelings. Also give me an excuse to use space and boat imagery.


End file.
